


The True Meaning of Christmas, Shadow

by AndromedaAI Archive (Steampunk_Hobbit)



Series: The True Meaning Of... [1]
Category: Bible - Fandom, Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Probably ooc, Time Travel, grumpy black hedgehog, nativity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 16:39:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 16,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5463617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steampunk_Hobbit/pseuds/AndromedaAI%20Archive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shadow the Hedgehog has never really celebrated Christmas since Maria died. After a forced dinner at Mikaela the Cat's house, he is shown the true meaning of Christmas by living through life with Mary and Joseph. Will he learn, or will he be lost forever?</p><p>(I had it posted like an advent calender when I put it up back in 2011. Dredged up from the beginning ages of my writing, lol.) (Originally posted: December 1st 2011) (Completed: December 24th 2011)</p><p>[Sorry for the crappy grammar and quality, this was written when I was 15]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preparing for Christmas

Shadow the Hedgehog was the Ultimate Life-form. He was Project Shadow, created by Professor Gerald Robotnik. He had no master, and he worked for GUN, Guardian Units of the Nations, the secondary Military/Spy Network under the CIA. He could shoot Chaos Spears; perform Chaos Blast and Chaos Control and Chaos Snap. He had a Camelot counterpart, but not a Moebius or Arabian Night counterpart. But do to his time in status; he didn't know what Christmas was. Now _that_ was a major problem.

A light blue feline with chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes found out about this. Mikaela, the leader of Team Shade, talked to her parents about it, and convinced them to invite Shadow over to help them decorate their house for Christmas. Shadow had no choice, Mikaela didn't give him one.

With the social status between them, it meant that they were barely 'friends'. They were more like 'business partners'. Shadow figured that Mikaela obviously told them about it, and he could just imagine the sceptical looks on their faces. He would be sceptical if his daughter walked up to him and told him that she was going to invite the hedgehog she had fought with for Christmas decorating on the first weekend of December.

Shadow walked up their driveway, but stopped when he noticed a Beagle on the deck. The dog looked at him and cocked his head a few times. Then it threw back its head and started howling. Someone opened the front door and looked out. It was Mikaela. She noticed Shadow and smiled. "Sorry about that Shadow," she said as he climbed the stairs to the front door. "Indiana must think you're a massive cat or something." Shadow cocked an eyebrow at that as she opened the screen door and moved out of the way to allow him to come inside.

Once he was in out of the cold, he noticed that Mikaela wasn't wearing her shoes in the house. He also noticed that nobody was wearing shoes in the house. So he reached down and took off his hover-skates.

Mikaela walked into the living room, but Shadow stood near the door and shut it. A rare awkward moment passed as Shadow found that he couldn't decide if he wanted to leave the mat.

"Come on, Shadow," Mikaela said from the living room. Shadow took a step off the mat and looked into the living room. He then slowly took a step into the living room, suddenly feeling unwelcome. When he got close enough to Mikaela, she grabbed his arm, and dragged him closer to her parents, who were sitting at the table. "Mom…Dad…" her parents turned to look at them. "…This is Shadow…the hedgehog I was talking about…"

Shadow glanced at Mikaela, realizing that she seemed awfully nervous around her parents. Shadow stepped forward shrugging Mikaela's hand off of him. "Hello," he said, keeping his cool and calm demeanor solid.

Mikaela's father stood up, towering over Shadow. Kris Cody reached out a hand and Shadow accepted it. They shook hands.

The decorating started with putting up the tree. Shadow helped Mikaela's father to open the first section of the tree. Then Kris lifted the second section of the tree, and the process repeated itself. And they did it again with the third section.

Shadow stepped back when Mikaela's brother came forward to decorate the tree. But Mikaela came up beside him and put an ornament in his hand. She then pushed him from behind right up to the tree. Shadow pinned his ears and growled, but hung the ornament anyway.

* * *

After the decorating, dinner rolled around. Shadow actually sat at the table and ate something, but there were a few glitches during the meal. Mikaela's parents told him about the true meaning of Christmas, but Shadow ended up blatantly telling them he didn't believe in such things. That earned a harsh slap from Mikaela because is saddened her brother more than it did her. She really didn't care if Shadow lived for the rest of the duration of Earth and burned in hell because he was so rude. But drew, her brother, almost worshiped Shadow since the day Sonic the Hedgehog was first sighted. Even though that wasn't really proper in a Christian household, what could you do? He was a nine year old with the mind of a six year old (metaphorically) due to his ADHD.

After dinner, Mikaela escorted Shadow to the door and opened it for him. Once he had his shoes on, she (almost) literally kicked Shadow out the doors. Then she leaned out the door and got dangerously close to his face with her own. "Listen up, Shadow," she hissed under her breath so only he could hear it. "You embarrassed me to the highest degree. Do you know how hard it is to get my parents to like Team Sonic?" Shadow watched as tears welled up in her eyes. "They allowed me to get the Sonic games, but now that they're real, I'm afraid they're going to deem my favourite characters unsuitable for my friends—that they would lead me astray. Now, you're a prime example. You were _so rude_ at our kitchen table tonight. Mom and Dad want to raise Drew properly, not have a role model teach him how to be even ruder than he already is! Now you better think about what happened and come back and apologise!" She then jerked herself away and slammed the door in his face.

Shadow sighed and shut the screen door before walking down the steps. He walked to the end of their driveway, thinking, _That girl had a lot of nerve to talk to me that way. Who does she think she is? She doesn't rule my life! I'm my own master! Nobody rules me! I'll choose my own path until the day I die!_ Shadow angrily kicked a piece of ice out of the way, but as he did so, he lost his footing and slipped. He fell to the ground and hit his head—hard.

The world was spinning when he heard someone whisper into his ear: _"Shadow…you'll have to learn that you're not your own master. If you're not mine, you're someone else's…you're either a child of God or the child of Satan…"_

"Who…? What…?" Shadow managed to say, dizzy and winded.

" _It's time to take your test…"_

Slowly, the stars in the night sky slowly faded from his view as he sank into darkness.


	2. Captured

Shadow opened his eyes and found that his vision was blurry. He blinked a few times until his vision cleared, and sat up. He looked around, and to his shock, found that he wasn't sitting on Mikaela's driveway. _Where…am I…? No! This can't be! That voice… did it put me here?_ Shadow was starting to piece things together, but then something grabbed his attention.

Voices.

There were people nearby.

Shadow got to his feet slowly, and crept slowly towards the source of the voices. He was in an alley, so when he got to the source of the voices, he wouldn't immediately noticed. He inched closely to the end of the alley and looked out. To his amazement, he saw a crowded marketplace, filled with people dressed in clothing that looked stifling in this heat. Shadow knew he couldn't step out into the marketplace without dressing as one of the people. They would probably panic at the sight of him as well. But how was he going to get any clothes…?

…

…

…

Ten minutes later, Shadow was dressed as one of the surrounding men. He figured, now that he was under this sweltering garment, that he was in some middle eastern country. But which one? And was this in the present? He continued to walk, and once he managed to get out of the marketplace unnoticed, he saw, to his horror, that there were no high-rises, no vehicles, just miles of rolling grass and desert. He blinked a few times, and came to the conclusion that he was in the past. The voice had transferred him to the past.

He slapped himself in the forehead. How was he stupid enough to believe that a _voice_ had teleported him?

He stopped beating himself when he noticed a group of horsemen approach a small group of buildings. The horsemen were dressed in armour, and each was wearing a helmet with a large plume of red brush-like material spread out on the top of them. Shadow blinked again as he realized that he was looking at Roman soldiers. _What are they doing?_ Shadow wondered. He decided to follow, following the strange feeling of curiosity that had suddenly bubbled up in him.

The Roman soldiers rode up to the buildings and dismounted. Shadow hid in some bushes off to the side, and watched. He made sure the hood of the cloak he was wearing obscured his features enough that if he was found, they would figure him to be a small human—maybe a child if he didn't speak—and he would be safe. But what were these soldiers doing here? Were they coming to arrest someone?

He watched as the soldiers stood together as their leader stood with a cloth sack and a scroll. Men from the several buildings—Shadow now realized they were houses—lined up in front of the leader of the soldiers with items from food to money. One even had a calf. One by one, food was dumped into the sack or money was given to the leader. Shadow figured that the men had to pay these soldiers for taxes. In the back of his mind, he remembered Maria telling him how the soldiers could sometimes be cruel to the men and do various things…

When the man with calf had his turn, Shadow watched as the leader of the soldiers refuse it. The man who owned the calf protested, saying, "This is all I have. My crops were so poor this year!" But the centurion just growled at him.

"This will not do!" he said. "Take his daughter, she'll work to pay this year's taxes!"

"No!" the man exclaimed, tears beginning to pour from his eyes. "Please! No! I beg of you! She is so young!" but he was restrained by two soldiers as two more went and grabbed his daughter, who fought back, and lost.

Shadow growled. The young girl had long curly brown hair. He knew all about this time, but seeing it in real life was much harder to bear. He got out of the bush, and walked towards the soldiers. But the soldiers mounted quickly, and rode away, leaving the man with the calf to cry in the dust. Shadow watched as the man was comforted by his fellow men.

Shadow was going to take after the soldiers when someone collided with him. It knocked him off his feet and his hood fell from his face. Shadow managed to recover quickly, and had found that one of the men's dogs had bowled him over and was now was standing with its paw on his chest. But the damage had been done—various people had seen his true identity. _So much for keeping it a secret_ , Shadow thought with a sigh. He heard someone shout, and a few men ran towards him. "It's an omen!" he heard someone shout. "The demons have come to attack! They wish to lead us astray!" A man stooped over him hastily and shoved a sack over his head. "Take him and lock him in a room. Don't let him talk unless if you want to ask questions."

Shadow felt himself be picked up after the dog was pushed off of him. He listened as they entered a house, and was thrown into a room. He didn't fight back. He didn't need to scare any more people than he had already. He heard the door close and lock with an ominous _bang._


	3. Mary Soothes Shadow

Shadow had long since removed the sack from his head, and was now pacing the small room he had been thrown into. _IF I have been teleported to the past by the voice, and IF it's true that I'm not hallucinating, then how am I supposed to get out of this? They're probably talking about me right now, trying to figure out if I should live or not. They'll probably kill me. But why? Am I really that strange to them?_ Shadow noticed a sickle standing in the corner of the room, and approached it. He held it up and examined it. It had been recently sharpened, so the blade was reflective. He looked at himself in the reflection, and saw that he still looked like his smooth, dark self, and that nothing looked out of place. But then everything started to click into place. _Oh…that is why…_ he thought. _I'm the half-spawn of the Black Arms, and alien race that could have been mistaken as demons. I don't think any of the Black Arms had started to visit Earth by now…but…so…they've never seen someone like me before…they probably_ truly _think I'm a_ monster.

It hit a tender cord. The word 'monster' did. He wasn't created to be a monster; he had been created to be a cure. A cure for a disease that was killing his best friend…

Shadow pressed a hand to his forehead, and a single sob escaped him. Everything had just. Turned. Out. Wrong.

The door suddenly creaked open slowly. Shadow turned his head and looked with shock as a young girl entered and shut the door behind her. Shadow examined her out of the corner of his eye. She looked to be sixteen years old, and she had long, slightly curly, dark brown hair. Her eyes radiated kindness as she walked closer and closer to him. She walked slowly towards him, as if she was approaching a scared foal. "It is alright," she said softly as he felt his muscles tense. "I will not hurt you…I want to help you…"

Shadow didn't move. He let the girl approach, but he twitched when she touched his shoulder. "Such a wonderful creature!" she breathed. "Soft fur…slick quills…chest fur…? Interesting…and you can stand on you hind legs…like a person…too!" Shadow turned his head a bit more, and she caught sight of his eyes. She gasped in wonder. "And eyes as red as the ruby on the Head Priest of Jerusalem's finger!"

Shadow turned his head away and closed his eyes with a soft groan. But then he opened his eyes. With a grunt, he took a step back when he saw that the girl was now kneeling in front of him and her eyes level with his. He stared at her as she looked over his face. "You can't be that bad," she said. "With a face like yours!"

Shadow had to cock his eyebrow at this. Was she telling him that he looked innocent?

His change in facial expression caused the girl to giggle. "Oh, so you have a personality," she stated. "That's sweet."

Shadow`s frown never left his face. He looked the human girl up and down, then crossed his arms and walked to the other side of the room. He faced the corner and began to sulk.

The girl was still kneeling on the floor. She looked at the dark hedgehog`s back sadly. This creature seemed fascinating, nothing like her father had described to her. She had come down to this room using a lot of courage because she wanted to see if her father was exaggerating or not. She had figured that he had been exaggerating because this creature just looked like one of those cats the live in the stables. But this creature was bigger than those cats, and could stand like a person. Now it seemed that the creature had an intelligent personality, and now it was sulking in a corner because she had commented on how he _had_ a personality.

The girl looked down at her hands, which were folded on her lap. But a deep, dark voice startled her. "Why are you so kind to me, girl? I don't deserve it. Nobody has treated me this way for a _very_ long time," it said. The girl looked up abruptly, and looked wildly around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Foolish girl…" the voice muttered darkly as the girl's eyes landed on the hedgehog. "Yes, it is I who is speaking…" the voice said before the hedgehog. The girl just stared at the hedgehog. He crossed his arms and leaned on his left foot before beginning to tap his right impatiently.

 _Oh no,_ the girl thought. _What have I gotten into? Have I forgotten how demons can take the shape of seemingly harmless creatures? What have I done?_

"Well?" it suddenly said.

The girl was shocked that it was the hedgehog who had spoken, so she slowly began to crawl backwards from him. "Y-you speak!" she exclaimed.

With a nod, the creature said, "I do. Is it that strange to you?"

She nodded furiously.

That annoyed Shadow because he was being sarcastic. It was probably because sarcasm wasn't that popular back now, so the girl thought he was being serious.

Shadow inwardly sighed. "Alright. Why did you come in here?"

"I was curious. And I wanted to see what you looked like before I had to leave with my husband, Joseph."

"And you're how old…?"

"Sixteen, sir," the girl replied.

Shadow looked at her incredulously.

"Mary!" someone called from the other side of the door. "Where are you, Mary?"

"That's Joseph!" the girl exclaimed.

"You're Mary?" Shadow asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes, and I'm going on a trip to Bethlehem with him."

Shadow's eyes widened as he realized where he was. He looked up into Mary's face, and then down at her stomach before returning to look at her face. Mary blushed as she caught on to what his eyes were saying. She looked a little worried. "You heard too?" she sighed. "Yes, I am pregnant," she said before grabbing his hand and running out of the room.


	4. Beginning to Travel

Shadow figured that the journey to Bethlehem would take about nine months. Nine months was a long time, a better part of a year. Shadow was immortal, so it didn't matter. But his feet would mind after a while. Even though he had been walking in these shoes since he woke from cryogenic sleep/suspended animation, he knew he had never walked 24/7 for nine months straight with about twelve hours rest that he would spend sleeping. He knew he could stand going one week without rest because of his Chaos Energy, since he did so when he was fighting Black Doom, but he'd never stretched himself past that yet.

Now, about getting out of the cluster of houses without being noticed. Mary and Joseph were walking on foot, and he stuck behind them so he looked like their child. Hopefully, nobody would stop to say goodbye. Unfortunately, they were stopped by Mary's father. Shadow snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of white-blue light. Luckily nobody noticed the light, and probably considered it had just been the sun that had reflected off of a tool hanging off of one of the many pack mules.

He reappeared behind a tree a few yards down the road where there were no houses or buildings. He waited there until Mary and Joseph ambled along. They were going at a mild pace.

"Now where did Shadow go?" Mary asked.

"You mean that fuzzy person wearing a hood that you were dragging behind you?" Joseph asked.

Mary nodded.

"Oh…"

Shadow sighed, and watched as they walked closer. When they were close enough, he walked out from behind the tree and stood waiting for them to catch up. He listened quietly to their conversation—which quickly ended when they saw him. "There you are!" Mary exclaimed. "I was getting worried about you! I thought you had been captured again! How did you get out here so fast?"

The last question had been fired at him so un-expectantly that it startled him. "Uh…I ran here. I'm fast…" It was a lame excuse, but it ended up working.

They walked down the path that seemed to stretch off into the distance and seemingly forever. Shadow thought about several things, like how he was going to get back, what the voice meant about him either being 'a child of God, or the child of Satan', and several other things, like what had offended Mikaela so much that she had kicked him out of her house.

And then he shuttered. He suddenly remembered how far back in time he was. It was either 3 BC or 4 BC, since the calendars wouldn't switch over to AD until Jesus was four, he figured. So that meant that now he was this far into the past, Maria wouldn't be born until, about, 1951 years from now. That would mean that he wouldn't be created until 1965 years from now. And the adventures he had with Team Sonic wouldn't take place until 2014 years from now (because Sonic and Shadow had met when Sonic was fifteen. Sonic was now sixteen—I mean, he was sixteen in 2011). He was 2015 years from home…

Mary and Joseph noticed that Shadow was off in his thoughts. They didn't bother him.

Shadow snapped out of his trance just as he was about to trip over a stump. He growled and side stepped around it.

* * *

That night, Shadow was lying on his back with his hands folded behind his back. He stared up at the stars and thought back to when he was living on the Space Colony ARK. Maria…

But then he remembered the last thing Mikaela told him before he was thrown out. She had been livid.

_"Listen up, Shadow," she hissed under her breath so only he could hear it. "You embarrassed me to the highest degree. Do you know how hard it is to get my parents to like Team Sonic?" Shadow watched as tears welled up in her eyes. "They allowed me to get the Sonic games, but now that they're real, I'm afraid they're going to deem my favourite characters unsuitable for my friends—that they would lead me astray. Now, you're a prime example. You were so rude at our kitchen table tonight. Mom and Dad want to raise Drew properly, not have a role model teach him how to be even ruder than he already is! Now you better think about what happened and come back and apologise!" She then jerked herself away and slammed the door in his face._

If he ever got back, how was he going to make it up to her? He couldn't walk around with her being his worst enemy. She had Metal Sonic on her team, and that was a threat. She may have gotten the robot onto her side, but if she became his sworn enemy, then Metal Sonic would become his worst enemy too.

With a shutter, Shadow realized that he may start to feel that he might not want to return to the future…if he could…

But then he slapped himself in the face. "Don't be a coward, Shadow the Hedgehog!" he growled to himself. "If she becomes your enemy, she becomes your enemy. You'll be able to handle her…" He curled up slowly after he said that, and fell into a disturbing sleep.


	5. A Bad Dream

Shadow tossed and turned, but he couldn't keep his mind from sinking down into a troubled dream.

_Shadow suddenly found himself standing in the entryway of Mikaela's home. He saw a box sitting just outside a door that was only a few feet from the front door. He approached it slowly and peered in. To his surprise, he saw various pictures of himself and even an action figure of him with his motorbike, the Dark Rider. He was confused about this. He approached the door, and saw that it was open. He looked into the bedroom, and saw that it belonged to Mikaela. Mikaela was sitting on her bed, her knees tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped tightly around them. She was staring into the "middle-distance" with hot tears running from her eyes._

"You did this to her, you know," _the voice that had teleported him to the past told him._ "You broke her heart when you acted like you did in her home."

I did? _Shadow thought. He suddenly found himself guilty, but he shook it off. It was her fault that she couldn't handle him._

"Shadow," _the voice said sternly, hearing his thoughts._ "You don't know how much you meant to her."

_What does it matter? Her "beliefs" should be kept to her family._

"Shadow! How dare you! Listen to her for a moment before I tell you a little story," _the voice said._

_Shadow watched as Mikaela shifted once and sighed. She looked up at the only drawn picture on the wall across from her. It was of Shadow, doing a super pose with her beside him. Shadow was slightly taken aback from this. "That will be the only picture I'll keep of you, Shadow the Hedgehog," she whimpered sadly. Her eyes hardened. "I can't believe I'm a fan of you, though. How you acted the other day shocked me. I thought you'd be nicer, or you would at least have the gumption to be polite while at my house. I mean, you're nice to Rouge, and you were nice to Amy once too. But you were not nice to me…why?"_

_Shadow took a step forward and opened him mouth to answer her. But the voice quickly stopped him._

"She can't hear, or see you, Shadow. If you were to touch her, she wouldn't feel you either. Now, do you want to hear a short story?"

" _No," Shadow said bluntly._

"Oh, well I'll it to you anyway." _The voice cleared his throat._ "A few years ago, Mikaela received _Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games._ She played the game and soon discovered you. You instantly became her favourite character, and she would often fight over her brother so she could play as you. A couple years after that, _Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games_ came out. She was thrilled, because it meant that you were coming to Canada. When she got the game, she played it and unlocked everything. Then her brother got _Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing_ from their grandmother. She played as you as much as she could. Then she and her brother teamed up and convinced their mother to allow them to get _Sonic Colours._ She enjoyed it, but was disappointed that you didn't appear in the Wii version. Then she stood up to her mother, because her mother wouldn't allow her to play the main Sonic games because she believed there was too much magic, and told her mother that she was a big girl and deserved to play the Sonic games. So the next game she got was _Sonic and the Black Knight_. She wanted to play because through research, she had fallen 'in love' with your Camelot counterpart: Sir Lancelot. I think she likes him a bit more than she likes you because Lancelot is more _polite_ than you are." _The voice teased. Shadow growled and tensed up_. "Not to worry though, Lancelot calls himself the 'Ultimate Knight' and not the 'Ultimate Life-form'…"

" _And what are you really getting at?" Shadow asked impatiently._

" _I'm saying that Mikaela really cares about you. And when you hurt her, she will never be the same…"_

* * *

Shadow returned to the land of the living with a large gulp of air that could have been mistaken as a gasp. He sat up and looked around and found that he was no longer in Mikaela's house. He was back in the past—with Mary and Joseph.

With a sigh, he got to his feet, and walked over to the fire-pit they had created. He filled it with new wood, and then lit it with a Chaos Spear. The fire was burning peacefully by the time Mary and Joseph woke up.

"Oh, hello, Shadow," Mary said before she yawned.

"Good morning," Shadow mumbled as he shifted a log so it would burn better. "Where are we?"

Joseph explained to him that they were still a long ways away from the next town. Shadow realized that he now had to be patient or he might just be kicked out.

After they "broke their fast" (that was what they called their breakfast), they started traveling. The traveled for many days before they reached the next town, and by then, Shadow and Joseph could tell slightly that Mary's 'baby-bump' was starting to grow…


	6. Do Not Make Me Do This!

The town they had entered was lively and crowded. Joseph said he was going to go find them an inn to stay in, so he left Shadow with Mary in a dark alley. Night was falling, making him wonder how bad the crime was back in 4 BC. It would not do if Mary was attacked and killed, and the baby not born. Not like he cared for the baby. But if something happened to Mary, he had the feeling that something horrible may happen.

Shadow quietly took Mary's hand and lead her down the alley. Flashbacks of Maria suddenly zoomed through his head as he recalled how he had ran down the hall with his blonde friend, trying to escape GUN. A tear appeared in his eye, but he quickly wiped it away.

Suddenly, he heard something and turned his head towards the source of the sound. Three burly men appeared dressed in the clothing of this time, and with sandals on their feet. Shadow stopped, and Mary looked at him quizzically. "I know what crooks look like," he whispered.

"What?" she hissed, confused.

"I _know_ what _evil men_ look _like_ ," Shadow hissed back, before covering her with his body.

The burly men chuckled at them, and the leader said, "Oh, look at what we've found here! This…er…fellow looks like he'd be worth a lot!" he indicated to Shadow.

Shadow frowned and growled. "Do…not…make me…do this!" he growled, not finding that he had to contain his anger. Slavers…

The men just laughed at him, which caused him to leap at them and take his anger out on them.

In no time flat, Shadow was finished with them. He stood staring at them for a few minutes, but then he whirled and grabbed Mary's hand. "Err…let's go…let's get away from them…" he said.

They eventually found Joseph, who was coming to find them. And when they sat in their room that night, they only conversed a little bit about what happened to them…


	7. Questions Answered Sorta

That night, in the inn, Mary and Shadow didn't mention anything to Joseph about what happened in the alley. Numerous possibilities flooded Shadow's mind as he tried to block out those burly men he now saw in his memories. They would have stripped him of his inhibitor rings, and his shoes, and his gloves, and then sold him to be either some rich kid's pet or a slave in some rich man's vineyard. But then, what would they have done to Mary? They would have sold her too.

Shadow closed his eyes and groaned.

"Shadow…are you alright…?" Mary inquired from where she sat, which was a rug on the floor.

Shadow looked at her quickly, then looked away again. "S-sure, yeah, I'm fine," he said.

Mary wasn't convinced. "No you're not," she said with a huff. "What is on your mind?"

He didn't want to tell her. He didn't want Joseph to find out. So he made something up. "I was thinking about how I got here. I don't know if I'm hearing things, but before I met you, I heard this voice, and it told me about someone named 'God'…"

He glanced over at Mary, and saw her staring at him. He growled deep in his throat. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, Shadow," Mary sighed before she crawled over to him. He didn't make a move to move away. As she sat down beside him, she asked, "Who do you think mentioned God?"

Shadow shrugged. "I don't know."

"Do you think it was an angel?"

"No."

"Do you want to know who God is, Shadow?"

"No."

Mary sat back on her heels with a 'humph'. "Well, if you like it or not, I'll tell you anyway."

Shadow glared at her.

"God created the Earth," Mary began. "He made all the animals, humans, and any creatures we may not know about. He made them pure and innocent, and they all got along together well…" Shadow's ears flopped "…until the first two humans: Adam and Eve, decided to listen to a snake. The snake caused them to eat the forbidden fruit, and so they were cast out of Eden—their home—and were sent to live in the wilderness. God is a merciful god, and, if you don't know him, Shadow, I bet he's calling _you_. He wants you to be part of His family."

Shadow looked at her. "So you're saying…that the voice may be God…?"

"Maybe."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see."

Joseph looked at his wife as she came over to sit beside him again. Joseph looked at Shadow and smiled, but Shadow turned his back to them and fell asleep on his rug.

* * *

"Shadow…"

_There was that voice again! Shadow was almost fed up with it. He just wanted it to leave him alone. It had made him feel humiliated the last time it had spoken to him. "Go. Away."_

"Now, Shadow, that's no way to talk to bodiless voices," _the voice teased._

" _I. Don't. Care." Shadow turned his back on the voice. But then something strong pulled him around so that he was facing "towards" where the voice "was", while getting a nice view of where he "was". He seemed to be in some kind of orangey-red void._

"Listen up, Shadow, you must start listening to what your friends are telling you!" _the voice scolded. But Shadow wasn't unnerved._

" _I said I don't care!" he exclaimed, trying to shut him mind off from what was bugging him most at the moment, which was the voice. But the voice wasn't letting him. It was like the voice was in control._

"Friends are important, Shadow. You will have to learn that you must trust them, or you will be left alone, no matter if you are the Ultimate Life-form," _the voice said sternly._

 _Shadow didn't know what to say. His comeback was going to be "I'm the Ultimate Life-form! I don't need friends! I am immortal!" but then the voice beat him to it, and he was left with nothing to say. This stirred his hot temper, and he was about to erupt into anger when the surrounding colour in the void changed to light blue. Shadow felt the anger drain from him as the colour began to remind him of his times with Maria, and the adventures he had on Earth. He sighed in contentment, and thought,_ If this dream stays like this until I wake up, maybe it won't be half bad…

 _But then…_ "Shadow, do you wish to see Maria again?"

_Shadow glared at the supposed location of the voice. "Yes…I would…"_

"Then find God, and he'll show you the way…"

* * *

Shadow woke up to find himself curled up into a tight ball. He whimpered as he uncurled.

When would the voice leave him alone?


	8. Lost

The next morning, when they were all prepared, they set out. But they stopped in the crowded marketplace. Joseph bought a donkey so that they would be able to carry all of the necessities. And it would carry Mary when she was near the end of her pregnancy.

When they were sure that they were ready to go, they set off. But the crowd grew steadily thicker as they tried to get out of the town, and soon Shadow found himself separated from them. "Mary? Joseph?" he tried to call over the din. But he couldn't find the couple. _What happened? I should have paid attention!_ He struggled on, and eventually found himself outside the town, but he still couldn't see them. He began to worry, because he didn't know this area and he would likely die of thirst and hunger before he ever found civilization.

He did not like this, not one bit.

He wandered down the road that the majority of the people who had been in the marketplace were going. Maybe Mary and Joseph would be going in the same direction. Maybe he would find them.

" _This is what happens when you do not trust in your friends…"_ a voice in the breeze said in a whisper.

Shadow looked around, and stopped. _Who was that?_ He asked himself. _Am I hearing things…? Have I…heard it…before?_

" _Shadow…"_

Shadow sighed and started to walk. He must have developed some sort of schizophrenia, because he was now hearing voices while he was _awake._

" _Listen to me, Shadow…"_

Shadow pinned his ears.

" _Why won't you listen to me Shadow…?"_

Shadow stopped, and stood there until he was alone on the road.

" _I am calling you, Shadow…"_

Shadow slapped himself in the face. _Why of all times…? I need to survive here!_

" _Shadow…Shadow…"_

Shadow started walking down the road again. If he saw anything that drew his attention, he would ignore it and continue to walk. He squinted and made sure his hood was pulled over his head, and he bowed his head so the sun wouldn't glare into his eyes.

" _Mary and Joseph are worried about you…"_

"I don't care if they're worried about me…" Shadow grumbled under his breath. He walked past a man with his horse.

" _But they care about you…"_

"Leave me alone…"

" _Shadow…"_

"I don't want to be lead down the wrong path again. I don't want to run into another Black Doom."

" _There isn't another Black Doom…I want to love you, Shadow…"_

"No."

" _What would Maria say about this…? She would probably cry!"_

Shadow stopped when the voice mentioned Maria. He looked up, and his wide, red eyes grew distant-looking. A memory of his first Christmas engulfed him, and he forgot all about the real world.

* * *

_Shadow watched as Maria set up the small tree that the Professor had gotten them a week ago. "Oh, Shadow," he innocent, blonde haired friend sighed. "This is going to be the best Christmas ever! It'll be you and me, together to celebrate the birthday of Jesus! Won't it be fun?"_

_Shadow felt himself nod. "Yes, it will be…" he voice sounded squeakier…_

" _Shadow…what do you want for Christmas…?"_

_Shadow looked at her and smiled. "Nothing, Maria…I just like having you around…"_

_Maria smiled at him with a smile he could never forget. "That's nice, Shadow…"_

_Shadow looked down at the ground and blushed. "Maria…" he said slowly. "What would_ you _like for Christmas…?"_

_His friend smiled. "You."_

* * *

Shadow shook himself from his memory, and then started walking forward.

_Maria…what would you like me to do…?_


	9. The Little Lost Girl

Shadow had been travelling for so long. He was far away from where he had last seen Mary and Joseph, and for a moment, he though sadistically that they may still be there looking for him. It had been _days_ since he had left that town. Shadow could feel the metal soles of his shoes begin to wear away, for he had been walking non-stop. But he wasn't going to stop; he still had approximately three more days before he would be exhausted.

Somehow, he found it crucial that he find and meet up again with Mary and Joseph. He just had this feeling that if he didn't stay with them, he would be lost in…time… _forever_.

When this entered his head, Shadow panicked. And this was something he wouldn't do. It said specifically in his book: _Thou shall not PANIC!_

But he was now.

And he couldn't help it.

Though he wished he _could_ help it

But that wasn't what was happening now.

He took off running into a patch of desert, his dehydration now warping his perception of things. He kept running and running and running until…

His foot caught on something and sent him tumbling head over heels into the sand.

"Ouch…" he managed to mutter.

"Oh, sir? Are you alright?" a strange voice asked him innocently.

Shadow slowly lifted himself out of the sand and looked up. Standing over him, to his surprise, was a young girl, about eight years old. He sat up so he could get a better look at her. To his surprise, she looked like she didn't belong here in this area of Earth. Her hair was golden blonde, and her eyes shone a clear blue. Her skin was pale, and she looked weak. "Sir…?" but then she gasped at his appearance.

"I know," Shadow said quietly. "I'm different…" Alarms were going off in his head. This. Girl. Looked. Just. Like. Maria!

The girl actually smiled at him. She didn't run away or scream. This shocked Shadow. "Oh, well, that's okay, I guess."

Shadow looked down at the grass. Then he said tentively, "Who…who are you?"

The girl became sad. "My name is Mariah. I'm lost, and I'm hungry…"

Shadow looked her in the eyes. "I wish I could help you…but I do not have any food…"


	10. The Shadow

As they walked, looking for someplace that may have food, Shadow asked Mariah the obvious question. "How did you get lost?"

Mariah was quiet for a second. "We were in a town, but it was really busy. I got separated from my parents because I stopped to look at something at one of the vendor's stalls, and when I was finished, I couldn't find them anywhere!" She looked really sad, and a tear dropped from her eye. "I just want to find them again!"

Shadow looked at her sad face, but didn't say anything. He looked ahead, but then stopped when he saw something that made chills run down his spine. But Mariah obviously didn't see it, for she continued to walk ahead. But she stopped when she saw that Shadow was rooted to the spot.

What Shadow could see was a huge man riding atop a huge horse. The man was clad in armor as dark as the night sky, and the horse was as black as tar. They were so menacing that Shadow suddenly felt his menacing façade melt away. He felt as vulnerable as a newborn baby.

 _What…What is that? I've never seen anything like it before! Why am I feeling so scared? I've faced many monsters before! Why…?_ He looked at Mariah, and how she resembled Maria so much. _I have to protect_ her.

"Shadow, what is the matter?" Mariah asked. "You look like you've seen a ghoul. Shadow!"

The horse and rider continued to approach. He was dressed in medieval armor, but it was the wrong era for that!

"Ma-Mariah…" Shadow stuttered. "C-can't you see it? The large horse and rider riding towards u-us…?"

Mariah looked over her shoulder in the direction Shadow had indicated. "What?" she said when she looked. "I don't see anything!" She turned back to Shadow, and saw that he had become deathly pale. "You don't look well, Mr. Shadow. Come, let's get out of the sun." She took his hand and began to lead him away. She sheltered him under a tree on the side of the road since they weren't that far from some grassy plains.

Shadow watched the rider, and watched as it looked at him before vanishing. Shadow blinked as he sat down.

But he wasn't going to rest. For a chill descended on him as an evil voice (not the one that bugged him) said in his ear, _"You shall never rest…Shadow the Hedgehog…"_

Shadow closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Who are you?_ he thought.

" _Your worst nightmare."_

_Why do you say that. You do not scare me!_

The voice chuckled. _"Oh, but you are scared. I can read your body language. You might think you're suffering from 'heat stroke', but you are not. You were scared of me. I wallowed in your terror."_

_L-leave me alone…_

" _Oh? I won't, actually."_

Shadow growled, startling Mariah. _Why not?_

" _Because I won't go without causing a little destruction first. Let me see…why don't mentally scar your young friend over there?"_

Shadow's eyes popped open in fear. "N-no! DON'T!" he cried out loud.

" _You_ are _afraid,"_ the voice cackled.

Shadow could sense the voice leaving him. He didn't want it to hurt Mariah, because guilt would be on his soul and he would keep thinking about how Maria would scold him. He sat up and looked around, trying to see if he could detect where the voice was. He suddenly saw a shadow (it was darker than the shade the tree cast) flit from where he was sitting over to Mariah. Shadow growled, and pounced on the shadow. It squealed in hatred and a clawed hand (Like the bad guy from _Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker_ ) shot up from the shadow and grabbed him around the neck.

The superhuman strength of that hand quickly squeezed his neck and began to drain the life from Shadow. He could hear Mariah in the background, screaming at the hand to stop—but it didn't. Shadow tried to fight against it, but even the Ultimate Life-form strength he had wasn't a match for the evil hand.

He was gasping for air now. His vision was fading. He knew the hand wouldn't let him go alive. The words of the voice that had bugged him came back to him now.

" _I want to love you, Shadow…"_

" _Listen to me, Shadow…"_

" _I am calling you, Shadow…"_

No air was entering his lungs now. His lungs screamed for air. Everything became so quiet. His heart was beating quickly, trying to disperse the air through his body to keep it going. _I cannot die…now…_ He remembered Mikaela and how angry she had looked when she had kicked him out of her home. He felt immense guilt and he wished he could have taken back what he had said to her family. But it was too late now. Mikaela couldn't hear him from the past—not like he could talk at the moment anyway—and he was going to die.

" _I am calling you, Shadow…"_

" _Listen to me, Shadow…"_

" _I want to love you, Shadow…"_

Shadow tried to stay awake, but he was failing. His struggles stopped and his body became faint. _I want…I want…_ but then everything tumbled into darkness.

* * *

Mariah screamed, as she watched the hand drop Shadow and disappear. She ran over to his still body and saw that he wasn't breathing. She buried her face in her hands and began to weep.

_Now I am lost…_


	11. Doomed?

It was so quiet.

Mariah stared at the still form of Shadow the Hedgehog, her soul filled with sorrow. What was she going to do now? When she had met Shadow, she was hoping that Shadow would protect her as they traveled. She needed to find her parents. They were going to Bethlehem for the same reason Mary and Joseph were—for registration. But now she was going to die here…alone…she'd probably watch him decompose first, though.

She shivered. That was _not_ a pleasant thought.

* * *

He should be dead.

Was he dead?

He didn't feel dead.

But feelings could trick you, right?

Shadow cracked his eyes open and was met by an endless black void. It was cold here. Lonely too. "Hello?" he called. To his horror, the blackness muffled his voice and absorbed it. He was taken aback. That wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to _echo._

Shadow was filled with dread.

* * *

 _Think, Mariah, think! Maybe Shadow is still alive, but I just have to get him breathing again. But how do I do it? …What can I do…? Think…_ Mariah was pacing back and forth. Once she had snapped back to her normal self, she had begun to think. She was a smart girl, so she could figure this out.

Then she got an idea. _Maybe something's keeping him from breathing…and all I need to do is blow into his mouth and make him start breathing again!_ She nealt down beside the black hedgehog and put her mouth to his mouth. She breathed in quickly, and then pulled away to take a deep breath and to see if he was breathing yet. So she took a deep breath, and then repeated breathing into his mouth. This time, he began to breathe shallowly, and Mariah began to weep in relief. He was going to live!

On a hill overlooking them, was Mary and Joseph.

Joseph ran down the hill while Mary lead the donkey. Joseph slid to his knees and stopped beside Shadow's still body. Joseph shook the hedgehog's body, but he didn't respond. "Quickly," said to Mariah and Mary, "let us get him onto the donkey."

* * *

Shadow could hear voices, but who did they belong to? He couldn't remember. This place was eating at his memory.

"Who are you?" he called, silently pleading that the voices would reply.

"' _Who are you?'_ Pathetic," mocked a voice from behind him. Shadow turned and saw a hideous dragon-like creature with several heads walking towards him seemingly on nothing but blood red light that pulsated slightly. "Face it, Shadow the Hedgehog, they can't hear you." the dragon's voice was evil and deep. "You're mine now. Any time now, you'll die from the lack of oxygen and you'll be _all mine_."

"No way!" Shadow growled. "I'll never be yours! I am immortal! I can't be ruled by anyone! I will not be ruled over!"

"Au contraire, slave, immortals _can_ be ruled over. Haven't you figured it out yet? _Nothing_ , absolutely _nothing_ escapes Grimm's grasp, even _immortals_."

Shadow backed up from the dragon, which was so big that it towered over him. "W-where am I?"

"In your own mind. And that means I can kill you when I want to."

Shadow gulped.


	12. What Does it Matter?

Shadow could not move. He couldn't make himself move.

The monster was coming closer. It was craving his flesh.

Shadow knew he was going to die _right now._ No salvation.

Satan knew he was to win this time; no one for his victim.

Shadow wasn't going to say he was sorry to Mikaela's family.

No second chances.

All he could do was look at the dragon. _At his death._ _Death_ _._

In a fit of panic, his mind flashed back to a time he was with Maria. It was a sanctuary for him…

* * *

" _Shadow…?"_ _It was Maria. "Why do you look so sad?"_

_He looked at his sweet friend. He could feel tears running from his eyes and falling to the desk he was currently sitting at. "I-I'm not sad…Maria…I'm just…thinking…"_

" _Thinking about what?"_

_Shadow took a deep breath. "If God loved the world so much…why did he wipe it out with Noah's Flood?" he asked._

_Maria seemed to think about it for a few seconds. "Well, when he wiped it out, he did it because the world was full of evil. There was only_ one _family that was worthy to live. It was Noah's family."_

_Shadow smiled at Maria. "Okay…I understand now. Thank you Maria!"_

* * *

It had been a long time since Shadow had ever said 'thank you' to anyone.

Shadow came back to the land of the living—er—more like: the Land of the About to Die—and the first thing he saw was the monster. But Shadow had recovered from his shock, and he was now ready to take on this monster. He had faced a similar monster before. Black Doom.

But then he remembered that he had been in Super Form when he had gone up against Devil Doom. He wasn't in Super Form now.

"I'll defeat you now, monster, because I have to return to the land of the living. You are not going to destroy me because I have a long list of things to do that I cannot do if I'm dead."

"What does it matter?" the monster said. "That list is not important. You're going to die _now_."


	13. Shadow?

Shadow knelt on one knee, a hand gripping his right side. He looked up at the monster and grimaced. They had been fighting for a while now, but Shadow couldn't land anything on the dragon. No matter how hard he tried.

Now he was injured, and he felt very weak. Blood was seeping through his fingers from the wound he was trying to cover up. The monster had got him there. A deep gash. And how there was blood here was a good question…but can't be answered because this fight is kinda supernatural.

Shadow rose shakily to his feet, still clutching his side. His ruby-red eyes met Lucifer's evil ones that seemed to burn like living flames. "I…will…" he choked out. "I…will…" to his horror, he watched as a smirk spread across the dragon's face. So Shadow muscled-up his strength. " _I…will…NOT bow down…to you…_ "

He watched as the dragon's face turn into an ugly snarl/frown. "How dare you!" his voice seeming to shake the void Shadow was in.

Shadow took a step back in shock. Lucifer looked ready to kill now.

He wanted, strangely, to run away from the monster. But where could he go in a place like this? So he just stood there and watched as Lucifer came closer, charging a ball of energy in his mouth. Shadow felt his ears fold back in fear as he watched, helpless to do anything. But then something tickled at the back of his mind. _"I want to love you, Shadow…"_

" _I'm calling you, Shadow…"_

_I'm calling You… H-help me…_

Shadow looked up at the ball of energy that was about to be fired at him. He closed his eyes, and a tear squeezed out from between them.

_Whoever You are…I am sorry I doubted You…please save me…I want to know more…_

Shadow opened his eyes and looked up just as Lucifer fired the energy.

* * *

Mariah, who was walking beside the donkey, next to Shadow's head, heard him whimpers something in distress. It sounded like, _"My Lord God, save me!"_

Mariah's eyes were round and shining. She ran up to Mary and Joseph and told them about what she had heard.

* * *

In a flash of light, Shadow found himself behind Lucifer. He watched as the ball of energy that was supposed to kill him hit the 'ground' harmlessly. But he gulped when Lucifer turned around to face him again, angrier than ever. Shadow backed up nervously. This situation was working on his nerves and was making him feel very out of character.

"You will die!" Lucifer cried, preparing to shoot at him again. But Shadow dodged the attack and skated away. One of Lucifer's other heads struck out and tried to get him, but miraculously, he managed to dodge.

But then, to his horror, Lucifer managed to pin him down out of nowhere. Now lying flat on his back, Shadow was at his most vulnerable. And he could do nothing to save himself.

But then he remembered the voice, and he thought about it. Who was it? It wasn't Lucifer. So it meant…

* * *

_Shadow found himself sitting at Mikaela's kitchen table. A large turkey and several side dishes were piled onto the table. Shadow inhaled deeply, and smelled that fragrance that told you it was time to celebrate. It had been years since he had smelled that smell._

" _Shadow," said a voice suddenly. He turned his head to look for the source of the voice, and found it to be Mikaela's little brother, nine year old Drew Alexander Cody. "You like turkey, right?"_

_The black hedgehog nodded. To his discomfort, this caused Drew to smile. Drew was known to talk too much, according to Mikaela._

_Well into the meal, Mr. Cody caught Shadow's attention. "So, Shadow, who do you believe in?"_

_Shadow looked at him, slightly confused. "What do you mean?"_

" _Well, there are various religions in the world, so we were just wondering if…you know…"_

" _I do not believe in anyone," Shadow said bluntly._

" _Do you want to lean about God, Shadow?" Drew asked._

_Shadow glared, "No."_

_Drew instantly tear-ed up, but he looked down at the table he could hide the tears._

_Shadow heard Mikaela growl._

" _Now, Shadow, just let us explain…" Mrs. Cody began._

" _NO!" Shadow cried. "Shut up, will you? I don't want to hear it!"_

" _How dare you?" Mikaela cried. Shadow turned to look at her with a glare and was met by a hard slap across the face. She then got up from the table and marched Shadow to the front door, and kicked him out. She then leaned in his face and said, "Listen up, Shadow," she hissed under her breath so only he could hear it. "You embarrassed me to the highest degree. Do you know how hard it is to get my parents to like Team Sonic?" Shadow watched as tears welled up in her eyes. "They allowed me to get the Sonic games, but now that they're real, I'm afraid they're going to deem my favourite characters unsuitable for my friends—that they would lead me astray. Now, you're a prime example. You were so rude at our kitchen table tonight. Mom and Dad want to raise Drew properly, not have a role model teach him how to be even ruder than he already is! Now you better think about what happened and come back and apologise!" She then jerked herself away and slammed the door in his face._

_Then he left, but slipped and banged his head on the ground. As he sank into the darkness, he heard a Voice…_

* * *

Shadow forced himself out of the flashback, and realized that it must have been God bugging him the whole time. God wanted him, but he didn't listen. Now he was going to die, and miss everything!

" _My Lord God, save me!"_


	14. Shadow, Will You Repent?

Shadow was about to pass out from the pressure being exurted on my chest. He could barely breath now. He knew he was dying.

But then, suddenly, bright white light filled the void, and he was blinded. The dragon, Lucifer, screamed in defiance, and didn't get off of him. "HE IS MINE!"

" **Lucifer, get off of my child,** " commanded a loud voice.

"NEVER!"

Shadow could only watch in astonishment as a Man stepped into view amongst the light. Shadow saw that the Man had flaming bronze eyes, skin that was almost at the point of glowing, and that He was wearing a white robe of some sort. The sash He was wearing was a royal blue. The Man approached the dragon, not afraid at all. Shadow thought jealously for a second that he wished he could have held his cool as well while he was facing Lucifer.

" **Lucifer, do I have to repeat myself? I said: leave my child alone!** "

To Shadow's surprise, Lucifer began to cower. Lucifer lifted his paw off of him, and Shadow was basically free now. But he couldn't move. He was in too much shock.

" **Be gone, Lucifer, and do not come back. Do not try to weasel your way back into Shadow's mind, for he is** _ **my**_ **child.** "

With a cry, Lucifer ran out into the darkness, and Shadow felt a great burden lift from his shoulders. He felt he could breathe deeply again and that maybe everything would turn out better. He almost cracked a smile. But he simply got to his feet, and looked around. Behind him, the void was black, but in front of him, the void was a blazing white. And standing before him was the Man.

Shadow found that he could not move. No matter how hard he tried, his body would not obey him. He could only stare at the Man.

The Man came to him and knelt in front of him so that he could look the black hedgehog in the eye. Shadow shivered internally, for when he looked into those bronze eyes, he saw wisdom as old as the universe. " **Shadow.** "

Shadow blinked, and found himself taking a shaky breath. "Y-yes…?"

" **Now do you see what your sins have caused? You have been sinning for a long time, Shadow…** "

Shadow looked down at his feet. "I-I know…"

" **That is what happens to those who fall from the truth, Shadow. You fell from the truth when Maria died, didn't you?** "

He nodded.

" **Why?** "

"You're an all-knowing God, aren't you? You know what happened."

" **I see. Do you wish to hear the truth from My lips this time?** "

Shadow was hesitant. He couldn't say no to God…but he didn't feel that he was ready yet. But before he knew what was happening, he felt himself say "yes." He looked up to see the One and Only smiling at him

For some time, he found himself listening to His words. It seemed to him that he hung on every word. It was like he was listening to Maria as she read him those bedtime stories she read all of the time. He felt himself smile, and he didn't feel so…dark any more.

When He was finished, He asked a very important question. " **Shadow, are you ready to believe?** "

Shadow was shocked at this, but inside, he felt a small voice screaming at him to say yes. And Shadow couldn't help but say…


	15. Reunited

" _Yes…"_

Shadow suddenly, with a rush, came back to the land of the living. With a gasp, he inhaled deeply, realizing that his lungs were starved of air. After breathing in and out a few times, he opened his eyes. He stayed still, wondering why he felt like everything was swaying. But then it hit him, and after looking left and right, and felt around, he realized he was on a donkey. But who's donkey? Who had picked Mariah and him up?

He wanted to find out, so he tried to sit up, but found that he didn't have enough energy. But how could that be? His Chaos Energy should have helped him recover instantly! But it hadn't, and now he was completely helpless.

He had to wait. And soon, he found that he had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Let us stop here for the night," Joseph said to Mary and Mariah.

They had come to a small clearing on the side of the road that was lined with trees. Joseph believed it would provide proper shelter for them that night because they had not made it to the next town yet. They unloaded the things they needed to create dinner, and their bed-rolls. Then Joseph went around to the still form of the black hedgehog that had traveled with them and then had got lost before being found unconscious with a young girl.

Joseph grabbed Shadow around the waist, making sure his robe wouldn't slide down past his knees. When he was about to lift him up, though, Joseph heard a groan. He froze, and after a few seconds of hasty thinking, he said slowly, "Shadow?"

"Y-yes? Oh…why did I fall asleep again?" came the reply.

"You're alright!" the Jew exclaimed. "I cannot believe it!" he set Shadow on the ground right side up. "When we found Mariah with you, we surly thought you were going to die. But praise the Lord, you're alive!"

Shadow crawled over to the edge of the fire. He sat down there, and that was when he nodded. "Yeah…"

"Shadow!" Mary and Mariah exclaimed before pouncing at him and smothering him in hugs. "You're alright!"

Shadow was struggling to breathe. "Y-yeah! I can't breathe!"

Once they let him go, he told them about what had happened after he had passed out. They sat there, taking it all in, and when he was finished, they broke into smiles. Shadow sat there staring at them, fearing what they may say next.

They continued to talk for the rest of the night, and when it became late, they lay down on their rugs.

While the others went to sleep, Shadow stared up into the night sky with his hands behind his head. He picked out the constellation Orion, and found it looked more like an archer back at this time than it did as a warrior in 2011. It reminded him of Mikaela strangely. Mikaela was the source of the guilt that still gnawed at his stomach. It was because, after her last adventure, he caught her doing target practice with some of her human friends. With a bow.

He just wanted to say sorry to her.


	16. Lou

Shadow felt relieved that he was no longer alone. That meant, as long as he stuck with Mary and Joseph, he would be able to find out how to get back to the Present. He didn't know why he felt he had to stick with them, but something kept telling him that he had to stick with them.

The weeks flew by and Mary started to walk a bit slower as her baby matured a bit more. They had been now travelling for about four months now.

They stopped by a pond one night, and when Joseph was out hunting, Shadow stayed and watched over Mary and Mariah. Joseph was gone for a while, and Shadow ended up watching the two girls fall asleep. Mary and Mariah huddled close to each other to keep the on-coming coolness of the coming night away.

Shadow sighed, and leaned up against the tree near the fire he had started. He closed his eyes and searched inside himself. Why did he feel so…alive now? He didn't feel like some Black Arms alien anymore. And the change did not make him feel like an alien zombie, either. He felt alive…and hungry. Hungry for information.

But there was no way to get information easily here in the Past. He couldn't just waltz over to a GUN base and log into their database.

Databases didn't even exist in the Past.

Shadow sighed and looked at the purples and oranges of the sky as the sun set. _It is like someone else is living inside me,_ he mused. _I don't feel alone anymore. Why? Why do I feel this way?_

"You know…I can provide a reasonable answer for that."

Shadow was startled by the new voice. I he jumped to his feet and whirled around. He ended up pinning the owner of the voice to the ground by pinning his shoulders. But when he got a good look at the owner of the voice, he felt a chill run down his spine.

The voice wasn't Mobian or Human.

He looked more animal than anything else.

Shadow examined the voice thoroughly. He looked humanoid enough, but he had a face resembling a jackal's, eyes as red as blood, fur as blue as the Faker's, and he seemed to be wearing some kind of bandit mask over his eyes. A long, red scarf was wrapped around his neck, but other than that, he wore no other clothing, not even gloves or shoes!

"H-hey," the creature said slowly. "No need to be alarmed. I'm here to help you, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"And who may you be?" Shadow growled, not moving to get off of him.

The creature grinned. "The name's Lou."


	17. Your New Life

" _Lou who?"_

Lou grinned again. "Well, I have many names, Shadow. I'm sometimes called 'Lou the Bookworm', or 'Lou the Helper', or simply, 'Lou the Hero'. You'll meet me in the future, and when you do, you'll understand the names…"

" _I meant I wanted to know your species!"_ Shadow shouted, completely forgetting about Mary and Mariah.

Lou looked shocked. But he was probably feigning it. "Oh! That's what you meant! Well, I'm a…uh…erm…Jackal! Yes, I'm a Jackal."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "You're a Jackal…? The way you said it sounded fishy…"

"Well, _hello_!" Lou retorted. "I'm acting _way_ out of character here! I'm usually not this cheerful or optimistic! I'm usually a very _dark_ character!" and then he said quietly, almost to himself, "The time travel must have done this to me…"

"What…you _time traveled?_ " Shadow exclaimed. He took an eagerly took a step towards the 'jackal'. "How…?"

" _It's so hard to explain_!" the jackal exclaimed. He grabbed his head in exasperation. "I had to talk to a freakin' dragon who can control _time_ , of all things, to send me here! And now I can't even get out of a stupid argument!"

"A…dragon…can control…time…?" Shadow said slowly with disbelief before falling silent.

Lou waved that away. "Never mind _that_ ," he said, finally calming down. "Now…you've finally excepted Christ and you feel a bit lost, right?"

Shadow nodded.

"Well, we all do when we first accept him. So, the main reason I'm here is to sit back and relax while you try to find out what is going on. But I'll give you something…" Lou reached into his 'pocket-space' and pulled out a leather-bound book. He walked up to Shadow and placed it in his hands. "You'll need this," he said seriously and in a low tone. "It's the Sword of the Spirit."

Shadow looked at the book and saw that it was a Bible.

Then Lou smiled again. "Welcome to your new life, Shadow!"


	18. Travelling

Lou sat down by the fire and stirred it up a bit as Shadow stared at him. "Am I the only one who can see you, or will Mary and Mariah scream when they see you?" Shadow inquired darkly.

The "jackal" dropped the stick he was using to stir the fire, and chuckled. He then looked at Shadow. "They won't be able to see me. Thanks to _another_ dragon who can control space…"

"What. The. Heck…" Shadow interrupted. "How can a dragon control time and _another_ control _space_? From what I've heard about Christians before I got pulled into this 'Walk-Through-the-Christmas-Story' was that one God, and one God only created the whole universe and controls time and space. You can't tell me that two dragons can do that."

Lou pinned him with his eyes. "In my world, there can, because God appointed them to do so." Lou stood up and those eyes were level with Shadow's. "Now let's shut our mouth about it, because if I talk too much about it, I may wreck something. You're a Christian now, right? But a new one. You're, finally, for the first time in your life, confused and lost. Don't mention the dragons and I'll help you understand things as we near Bethlehem."

Shadow nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off of Lou's. "So…when I talk to you, will other's think I'm talking to air?" Shadow asked.

Lou shrugged. "Probably."

Shadow growled and turned from Lou just as Joseph returned with a few rabbits. The sun finally slipped behind the horizon and it became dark. "Are you alright, Shadow? You looked vexed," Joseph said.

Shadow waved that away. "It was nothing," he stated before going and sitting by the fire.

* * *

They travelled for quite a while, and Shadow ended up only seeing Lou when nobody was looking or when he needed some major help. As time went by, he found that he was becoming more rugged looking. His quills were becoming blunt, and the tips were fraying. His skin was drying a flaking, much to his amazement, and he was wondering if he had grown a quarter of an inch.

But he was not pleased with the changes.

And he couldn't help but wonder if time had progressed in the future. _I need to get back…fast!_


	19. Talking

Shadow looked around at the town they had just entered. It looked newer that the others, but he found it had a dark air to it. He shivered and plodded along behind the donkey that was now carrying Mary because she was always feeling tired now.

They stopped at an inn, but Shadow didn't enter it. He walked away as Mariah, Mary, and Joseph got a room. Shadow didn't feel that it was appropriate for him to sleep in the same room as a young girl.

He walked down a barren street, looking around as he did so. _We should be getting to Bethlehem soon. Why do I feel like when I get there, I'll go back to my time? I am so confused still, even though I've been travelling for quite a while now…has it been eight months already? I must shut my mind off or something…_

"Earth to Shadow, Houston needs you!" said a voice suddenly from beside him. He stopped abruptly and whirled, tackling the speaker. It was Lou, and he was laughing hard. "You should have seen your face when you snapped out of your thinking!" he gasped.

Shadow growled. One thing everyone knew (other than Lou; that was apparent) was that you should never ever, _ever_ , _EVER_ startle Shadow. Your death would be certain otherwise.

But of course, that did happen this time.

He got off of Lou slowly, and never took his eyes off of him. But the he blinked a couple of times and snorted humorously. Lou blushed and let out a small moan.

For on his head was perched a halo. And he was wearing wings. "I had to do it…I was staring as the angel in my church play…" was what Lou managed to say as an explanation.

"Y-you…starred in a play…?" Shadow said slowly.

Lou nodded. "It was okay, but it could have used a bit more oomph! The kids talked while looking at their _feet_! You couldn't understand what they were saying! I nearly missed my line because of that!"

Shadow listened with half of an ear. After a while, Shadow stopped his rambling by saying, "Lou."

Lou looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Just…shush…"

"Oh."

They continued to walk for a few more minutes, but this time, there was no talking.

"…Lou?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you?"

"I'm a time traveller."

"You knew what I meant."

"Uh…"

"Why are you so reluctant?

"I am because I don't want to ruin time."

"And time has something to do with me being here?" Shadow asked sarcastically.

Lou just glared at him because he knew that Shadow knew that Shadow had traveled through time.

"How much longer until Bethlehem?"


	20. There it is, Bethlehem

Shadow, Mary, Joseph, and Mariah continued to travel and time seemed to whip by. This startled Shadow because when he laid down to sleep each night, he would marvel how he could hardly remember anything about what had happened that day. _There must be a reason…but what?_ He would ask himself every time.

But now, it was evening, and Shadow felt like he was at the end of his rope. They were climbing a hill, and it was steep. The donkey carrying the full-term pregnant Mary was straining to climb the hill. Lou took this moment to appear beside Shadow, but without the halo and wings this time.

"You're almost there!" he said encouragingly.

"Almost where?" Shadow snapped.

"To Bethlehem, you moron! I thought you had that figured out by now."

"Well _excuuuuuse_ me!" Shadow retorted before he stopped and a faraway look appeared in his eyes. He then blinked and shook his head. "I sounded like the Faker for a second there. That is not good."

Lou chuckled. "This life-changing experience has had an effect on you…"

"Yeah, it has, what is it to you?" Shadow growled as he resumed his walking.

"I'm just concerned for you."

"You are…? Why…?"

"Just because," Lou said with a shrug. "If you died here, you wouldn't be able to return to the future, and then you wouldn't be able to apologise to you friend…right?"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?"

Lou grinned. "I'm from your future, remember? I'll learn about these things."

"Oh…"

"Mr. Shadow…" Mariah's voice drifted over to him as he totally forgot about Lou. "Come look at this…"

Shadow instantly realized that the others had stopped walking, and were now looking down at a town.

"There it is," Lou gasped. "Bethlehem…"


	21. Bethlehem and Birth

Shadow sighed as he beheld the end of the road: the town of Bethlehem. Maybe he would be able to return to present soon…and say sorry to the Cody family. They began to descend the hill towards Bethlehem, and Shadow felt weariness begin to settle into his bones. He couldn't wait to just curl up and fall asleep. It was the right hour to fall asleep; anyway…the stars were out. But Shadow wasn't going to be able to rest quite yet. Mary's water broke. "Joseph…" Mary said, losing her posture on the donkey. "I-it's time…" Joseph looked at Mary in the eyes and realized what was happening. And he started panicking. They began rushing to towards and inn, but when they got there, they found that that inn was full. It was because of the survey. They tried another inn, and got the same story. They found out that every inn was full, but the last innkeeper they asked told them he had a stable out back that they could stay in. A stable…great… But Mary was in a lot of pain now, so it would have to do. So the innkeeper led them to his stable, which was in a cave situated in the side of a hill. The innkeeper cleared the main area of the stable of animals, and made sure it was as comfortable as possible before rushing back to the inn to get his wife. The wife came running to help Mary with the birth. The innkeeper left to go back to his inn while Shadow and Joseph stood right outside. "I hope Mary'll be alright…" Joseph said slowly with a nervous look on his face. Shadow put his hands behind his back and looked at the ground. "She should be fine. Giving birth to a child is a natural thing all women have to go through." "True. And I trust the Lord to watch over her and to make it as painless as possible," Joseph said faithfully. "Indeed," Shadow seconded without looking up. "He will." There was silence, and they could hear Mary's whimpers and the innkeeper's wife saying: "Do not fret, dear, it shall be over soon." "Does that mean that you believe?" Joseph's voice broke the silence and caused the black hedgehog to look up at him. Shadow nodded hesitantly. Joseph grinned despite his anxiety and glomped Shadow with brotherly affection. Shadow struggled and got out of the embrace. There was some more silence that was only broken when Mary's cry of joy was heard in the air.

Shadow sighed as he beheld the end of the road: the town of Bethlehem. Maybe he would be able to return to present soon…and say sorry to the Cody family.

They began to descend the hill towards Bethlehem, and Shadow felt weariness begin to settle into his bones. He couldn't wait to just curl up and fall asleep. It was the right hour to fall asleep; anyway…the stars were out.

But Shadow wasn't going to be able to rest quite yet.

Mary's water broke.

"Joseph…" Mary said, losing her posture on the donkey. "I-it's time…"

Joseph looked at Mary in the eyes and realized what was happening. And he started panicking. They began rushing to towards and inn, but when they got there, they found that that inn was full. It was because of the survey. They tried another inn, and got the same story. They found out that every inn was full, but the last innkeeper they asked told them he had a stable out back that they could stay in.

_A stable…great…_

But Mary was in a lot of pain now, so it would have to do. So the innkeeper led them to his stable, which was in a cave situated in the side of a hill. The innkeeper cleared the main area of the stable of animals, and made sure it was as comfortable as possible before rushing back to the inn to get his wife. The wife came running to help Mary with the birth.

The innkeeper left to go back to his inn while Shadow and Joseph stood right outside.

"I hope Mary'll be alright…" Joseph said slowly with a nervous look on his face.

Shadow put his hands behind his back and looked at the ground. "She should be fine. Giving birth to a child is a natural thing all women have to go through."

"True. And I trust the Lord to watch over her and to make it as painless as possible," Joseph said faithfully.

"Indeed," Shadow seconded without looking up. "He will."

There was silence, and they could hear Mary's whimpers and the innkeeper's wife saying: "Do not fret, dear, it shall be over soon."

"Does that mean that you believe?" Joseph's voice broke the silence and caused the black hedgehog to look up at him.

Shadow nodded hesitantly.

Joseph grinned despite his anxiety and glomped Shadow with brotherly affection.

Shadow struggled and got out of the embrace. There was some more silence that was only broken when Mary's cry of joy was heard in the air.


	22. Hark The Herald Angels Sing

Shadow looked towards the door of the stable/cave, frozen to the spot. Joseph looked at the door with a look of awe and happiness. He rushed into the cave while Shadow just stood there, unable to move.

After a while, he gained control over his body, and looked up. In the sky, there was a large star that seemed to point out the stable. _I wonder how many people will be attracted to the stable because of it…_ Shadow mused. He looked back down at the entrance of the cave, and willed his legs to move. Step by small step, he went closer to the door. The metal on his shoes scraped against the gravel on the ground, and made a strange shuffling sound.

Everything seemed so loud now. And slow as well. Everything felt as heavy as lead and his eyes seemed to want to drift shut. But he fought it, and walked into the cave. He stood and looked at what was before him.

Light that was seemingly shining down from the roof like a heavenly white spotlight shone down on what looked to be a trough that you'd put animal feed in. But it was a manger, and in it laid a baby. Mary knelt beside it, weak as she looked, ready to tend to her baby if any need aroused. Joseph stood looking down at the baby; but what really amazed Shadow was that the baby was silent. It wasn't crying…but it was breathing none the less.

_What baby doesn't cry?_

Shadow slowly started to approach the manger, but he stopped when he heard hurried footsteps from outside. With a grunt, Shadow scuttled into the shadows. He watched the entrance from there. The innkeeper hadn't noticed him because he was wearing a hood, but as soon as the innkeeper was gone, his hood ripped because of his long and unruly quills. He sat down, and watched, because the newcomers would surely freak if they saw him.

Suddenly, someone touched him, and it caused his head to whip around and his glare appeared on his face. "Be still, it 'twas only me," Mariah said in a hushed tone. Shadow let out a sigh.

Shadow went back to watching the entryway in time to see two men and a boy enter with a few sheep trailing behind. Shadow blinked a few times, and then it dawned on him that these newcomers were _shepherds._

The shepherds went slowly over to the manger where they knelt down before it and began to praise the baby inside it. Shadow watched them, and felt a small smile creep onto his face.

Then came the sound of protesting camels. Shadow looked towards the entrance just as three men dressed in elaborate robes entered, and watched as they walked over to the manger as well. The shepherds were not quite as done as they hoped, but they stood off to the side and continued to look awed.

Shadow wanted to get a good look at that baby as well, but he would not be able to for a while it seemed.

* * *

A while ago, the deadened feeling had returned to Shadow. As he watched the shepherds and the rich-looking men, Shadow had fought to keep himself from falling asleep. Mariah was completely oblivious to this, though. She would whisper to him from time to time, but once Shadow started heading downhill, he found himself listening with only half of an ear. Sometime later, he said, "Enough, Mariah…please…I do not feel too well. Stop barraging me with words."

"How do you feel?" Mariah asked worriedly. "Is it bad? Should I get Mary and Joseph?"

"Leave them be," Shadow said sternly. "I-I just wish these strangers would go so that I could see the baby as well."

"Well, then let's see him then!" Mariah exclaimed. She grabbed his wrist and stood up. She began to tug on him to get him to stand up, but since he was roughly the same size as her, her small strength wasn't going to do anything.

"No," Shadow whispered. "I can't let the strangers see me. They may be scared of me, Mariah!"

"Nonsense!" she exclaimed, for a moment sounding like Maria. Shadow froze, and this allowed Mariah to yank him onto his feet. She began to drag him out of the shadows. "You're such a creature of the shadows, Shadow," she remarked gleefully. "It's time you got a bit more light. Maybe then I'll get to call you Sunny."

 _That's worse than Rouge's "Mr. Sunshine",_ Shadow groaned inside.

He allowed Mariah to drag him into the light shining down from the roof. But he cringed when he was completely exposed, the only thing obscuring a bit of him was the clothing that he had snatched at the beginning of this adventure. His back quills were ripped through the back, and looked just as worn as his head quills. Were they even sharp anymore? He waited for the collective screaming, but none came. He looked up and looked around, but everyone only seemed to glance at him as if it was normal to see a Black Arms/Hedgehog hybrid standing there, and then went back to staring at the baby in the manger.

Shadow let out the breath he seemed to be holding, and stepped up to the manger. The men in robes stepped back (Shadow had a feeling that they were "Wise Men", but he didn't know why), and allowed Shadow to look into the manger.

Instantly, Shadow found him feeling weak at the knees, something that he didn't do every day for the fact that it made him feel weak. But now, he felt very weak, and he couldn't do anything about it. For in the cradle, was the baby version of the Man who had saved him from Lucifer.

Shadow fell to one knee and bowed before the baby (Sonic and the Black Knight style). When he was done, he looked up from his position on the floor, and looked up at Mary and Joseph. "What is his name?" he asked.

"His name will be Jesus," Joseph said.

Shadow nodded. But then, to his shock, he started to feel dizzy and lightheaded. "Uh…" he moaned. "I suddenly don't feel too well…"

' _I guess it's time to go then, eh?'_ Lou's voice said in his head before Shadow blacked out.

* * *

"Ugh…" Shadow moaned. Everything was dark, but he could feel that he was laying down somewhere. He moved his right hand, and found that he was lying in some sort of bed. Whose bed was the question.

But now his head was pounding, but more in the back-of-the-head area, and he couldn't remember why.

"Are you awake, sleepy-head?" asked a mature and feminine voice from seemingly far away. "Yoo-hoo!"

Shadow groaned again, but opened his eyes. The first thing that met his gaze was a blurry image of a room and the face of an all too familiar bat. "R…Rouge?"

"Oh, so you _are_ awake," she said with a sly smile. "You were out for quite a while. Almost a month. I found you on the Codys' driveway and figured that you may need to see a doctor. You weren't moving."

"…Thank you, Rouge."

The ivory bat's eyebrows rose sharply at that. "Well, that's a first."

And then the Cody's and what he had done to them snapped back into his mind. "Rouge! What is the DATE?"

"You were comatose for almost a month…today's Christmas Eve. And if you need the time, it's five thirty in the afternoon," Rouge helpfully informed him. It her surprise, the dark hedgehog jumped out of bed he had been lying in and glanced at the clock hanging over the door. He glanced at himself in a tall mirror in the corner, and saw that he was back to his smooth, put-together, dark self.

"I might not be feeling so ultimate anymore, Rouge, but I have a mission to accomplish," Shadow stated in a mysterious tone.

"What kind of mission? Did the Commander give you a mission before you knocked yourself out cold?"

Shadow shook his head. "No. I…I…have to a-apologise to…the Cody family…"

Rouge's eyebrows shot up again and her mouth dropped open in shock. "Shadow, what has happened to you? You're not the grouch you used to be! Was there some kind of divine intervention when you were out?"

Shadow turned from Rouge and let a small smile crawl onto his face. "You could say that happened," he said. "But I can't let my mistakes ruin their _Christmas_! …Maria wouldn't like it."

He then began to make his way towards the bathroom, but a tingly sensation in his scalp and a burning on his muzzle stopped him. "What?" he choked. He quickly turned to Rouge, and in turn, she put a hand over her mouth as a worried/scared look on her face.

He couldn't see it, but he felt it. What the environment did to him in the past (or dream) had caught up to him and was doing the same damage it had done to him before. His skin, in a matter of seconds, went from smooth and hydrated to dry, flaky, and cracked. His quills and fur grew longer, and his quills dulled and frayed. And through the tips of his gloves, he suddenly had claws.

He held his hands up so he could look at them and muttered a small, "Oops."

Rouge went into a thinking pose and tapped an index finger against her lips. "Looks like you developed an instantaneous weathering problem, Shadow. I'll help you look 'together' again, just let me get some stuff. Where are you going tonight that makes you so rushed— _other_ than to the Codys'?"

Shadow looked into Rouge's eyes in a dead serious look. "I'm going to church."

Rouge smiled. "Alright, hon. I'll be right back. You just go into that on-suite bathroom of mine and scrub that dead skin off. And after you do that, put on some moisturiser." She walked quickly over to a window and flew out, destination: Wal-Mart.

With a sigh, Shadow went to do as she suggested.

Rouge returned just as Shadow finished washing. She showed him what she had got, which consisted of quill shampoo, claw clippers, a tuxedo, a new pair of gloves, and a cologne called 'JilSanders'. Shadow took the lid off of the cologne and sniffed it. To his surprise, it was a manly smelling perfume that did not try to override the senses like some did.

Rouge suddenly grabbed one of the spikes on his back and yanked him down onto a chair. "R-Rouge! What are you doing?" Shadow asked, not liking how she was manhandling him.

She clicked her tongue as she would to a child. "Shadow, Shadow, Shadow. You're going to a _church_. People go their dressed formally. You've got to _look_ nice and _smell_ nice. You don't want to embarrass yourself. Because an Ultimate Life-form that has humiliated himself is not good company."

"Fine."

Shadow sat still for Rouge as she cut his quills and back-spines back to their original lengths. She made sure those were sharp, because you never know when he should use them. She then made sure there was no more dead skin on his muzzle, and that he had used the moisturizer. She then had him put on the new gloves, and then put on the tuxedo. When he was done, Rouge smiled and whistled appreciating.

"You look fine, real fine, hon. You'll knock them dead."

Shadow looked at himself, and then thought about something. He ran to Rouge's computer, booted it up, and then looked something up. After he was done, he said, "What if they don't take me seriously, Rouge? What if they figure me to be a liar dressed up to make myself look like I'm telling the truth? Like this…Anti-Christ foretold in the Bible?"

Rouge rubbed his shoulders. "If they see that you're being sincere, I _know_ they'll accept your apology. If they don't, I'll have a talk with them."

"If you do, Rouge…please dress more modestly…"

* * *

Shadow walked slowly so that he wouldn't wrinkle his tuxedo. He could see the Etson Alliance Church. He was almost there. He could see various cars drive into the parking-lot beside the U shaped church, and he wondered if the Cody family was in one of them.

He sped up his pace, and made it to the church a few minutes after the last family entered. His hover-skates made slight clicking noises on the concrete walkway as he made it up to the stairs that lead up to the double doors. He climbed the wooden steps and entered the church.

When he stood in the lobby, he felt like something invisible was pressing up against his chest. He was just nervous, he thought. What words would he say to the Cody family? What if he said something wrong? He had no backup. The only people he knew would be the ones he might accidentally upset.

But he made himself to move forward, and he entered the sanctuary through two glass French doors. He saw the Cody family sitting in the back row on the far set of chairs. They were all staring at the front of the room, which was lit up. There was one seat left in their row, which was between and old human lady and Mikaela. He would sit there.

He walked across to the row, and squeezed past the senior. He sat down in the empty chair and looked to the front. The pastor was standing at the podium, and he was talking to the congregation about the true meaning of Christmas. Shadow grinned. He knew all about it. He had been there.

"Will you all rise with us as we worship our King?" the pastor asked the congregation. Everyone stood, and with a smile, Shadow did as well.

The first song they sung was "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".

* * *

After the service was over, Shadow "shadowed" the Cody family. When they were outside, Shadow hailed them. "Please stop!"

They turned to look at him with straight faces. But their eyes betrayed them. They looked angry at him (except Drew, he was jumping around, overjoyed that Shadow had come to church). Shadow's ears flopped as he took a shaky breath. "Please hear me out," Shadow said slowly. When he knew that he had their attention, he said, "I'm sorry! I truly am! Please, I thought you were the _forgiving_ type! I thought all Christians were! _I dressed up for the first time in my LIFE_ just so I could come to your church, learn about God, and **say sorry**!"

Kris blinked a few times. "What did you say?"

Shadow repeated what he had said.

Mikaela scowled and said, "Down on your knees!" while pointing at the ground.

Shadow obliged, feeling the lowest he had ever felt.

"Repeat your apology!"

"I-I'M SORRY!"

There was silence for a few moments. But then he felt a pair of arms go around his neck. Shadow looked and saw that is was Drew. He didn't know what to say, but he knew that he had been forgiven. Another set of arms wrapped arounf his neck, and he saw that these arms belonged to Mikaela. She sniffed his blazer and broke into smiles. "You smell like my father!"

"I do?"

"Yes! You must be wearing the same cologne."

Shadow smiled again, and for the first time since he was Maria, he felt at peace on the inside.

As Shadow joined the Codys in their car, other families from the church drove away. If you listened closely, though, over the noise of the town, you can hear the voices of many heavenly hosts. The angels were rejoicing tonight.


End file.
